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This page explains the rules behind lab release. For the steps, see Enter and release results and Lab orders and results. For the whole journey, see Lab test loop.
Status: the mechanism is live. Which tests count as sensitive, and the legal basis for holding them, are awaiting clinical sign-off.

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The order of events

  1. A doctor places the order.
  2. The lab receives the specimen.
  3. The lab_tech enters results and saves them as a draft. A draft is not visible to anyone outside the lab.
  4. A verified scientist signs and releases the results.

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Release needs a verified MLSCN licence

Only a verified MLSCN scientist can sign and release. Without one, PHB refuses with Only a verified MLSCN scientist can sign and release a result. If there is no draft to release, it says There is no draft result to release — enter results first.

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Two gates

Release happens in two steps. On release, PHB classifies each result. A sensitive result is signed and available to the doctor, but it is held from the patient. The reason is that some results should be delivered by a person, with counselling, and not appear cold on a screen.

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Held results

Only the clinician who placed the order, and only a verified clinician, can release a held result (Release to patient on the Labs tab). See Lab orders and results.
  • The patient sees nothing. Not the result and not the test name. If every result on an order is held, the whole order is invisible to the patient.
  • Print excludes it. The lab’s result slip contains non-sensitive results only.

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If PHB cannot classify a result

It fails closed. A result with no coded test and no coded values, such as a photo or PDF upload, is treated as sensitive and held until a clinician reviews it. It is never released automatically.

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What is not built

There is no automatic release after a delay. There is no cancel option for a lab order.
If a patient asks why a result is missing, do not describe or confirm it. Ask the ordering clinician to arrange the conversation.